The prior art is replete with relatively small and lightweight motorized, or self-propelled golf carts, that could conceivably be stored in the trunk of an automobile, as can be seen by reference to U.S. Pat. No's: 3,407,892; 3,527,314; 3,205,963 and 3,232,367.
While these patented devices are admittedly adequate for their intended purpose, they also share one or more of the following deficiencies: e.g.--instability, due to a high center of gravity; limited or no collapsibility; limited or straight line steering only; no independent braking; limited or no suspension means; and on-or-off operation only.
In addition to the above noted drawbacks, the prior art has failed to recognize, that if a motor can be utilized to propel the golf cart ahead of a person, it might as well be used to its full potential, and transport the person along with their golf bags.
Unfortunately, due to a lack of foresight, the prior art devices used to transport both the golfer and their equipment have followed the maxim that "bigger and bulkier are better." As a result, the occupant driven golf carts that have been developed are neither compact, collapsible, nor portable in the trunk of a vehicle.
The present invention addresses the shortcomings of the prior art, by providing a golf cart that has all of the advantages of the occupant driven golf carts, while retaining the compact configuration and portability of the self-propelled golf carts.